CLE Board Ups Distance Learning, Ethics Hours

The Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education Board has announced
changes to the regulations for continuing legal education which will affect
all lawyers beginning with compliance periods with 2015 deadlines.

By a rule change published at 44 Pa.B. 768,
the number of credits that may be earned through distance learning is increased
from 4 to 6 of the total 12 required hours.

The Board also adopted an amendment to Section 3 of the CLE
Board Regulations to increase the requirement for CLE in ethics,
professionalism, or substance abuse from one hour to two. The requirement for
CLE in substantive law, practice and procedure is reduced from 11 to 10, so the
total time per compliance period remains at 12 hours.

The CLE board is responsible for administering the rules
pertaining to continuing education for attorneys. This responsibility includes
monitoring each attorney’s compliance with the requirements, notifying
attorneys of CLE status, and accrediting CLE providers and courses.

First, the list of entities who may not make a claim set
forth in Rule 514(a)(4) was amended to exclude claims by a business
organization having twenty or more employees. In an unusual step, Chief
Justice Castille dissented from the per curiam order, writing,

In my view, the purpose of the Fund does not include
reimbursing large entities which are sufficiently positioned to insure against
losses. I would prefer an amendment that applied to “a business organization
having five or more employees.”

Second, a provision was added to Rule 514(b) stating that
the maximum amount of claims disbursed on account of any one attorney shall be
one million dollars. The Board may, however, request permission of the Supreme
Court to exceed this amount when necessary to adequately compensate all victims
of the covered attorney, and exceeding the maximum will not unduly burden the
Fund. The limit that may be paid to any individual claimant remains at
$100,000.

Board’s Communications Features Updated

We try to keep in touch; we really do. The Disciplinary
Board has updated several features of our communications media to better
provide you with the information you need. Recently, we have made the
following updates:

The print size in the new blue booklet version of the Rules of
Professional Conduct has been increased, because none of us are getting any
younger. You can order them here.

If you use a mobile device to access our website, padb.us, you have the option of using the site through
a mobile version that is easier to read and use.

We hope you’ll follow our Twitter feed @DBoardPa for the latest news from the
Disciplinary Board and the Pennsylvania courts. You can even sign up to be
notified when we tweet by using push notifications. For
information on how to set your device, see this handy
guide.

Counting Them Down

The Disciplinary Board has published a chart with the
statistics for discipline in 2013. Most of the numbers are down from 2012,
except for disbarments, up to 40 from 36 (20 of those by consent). In all, 233
case resolutions included 51 cases of private discipline, 90 of public
discipline, and 80 reinstatements granted, two denied. The chart is here.

Lawyer Founds Church to Avoid Sanctions

Minneapolis lawyer William Butler claimed he had no funds
available to pay a sanctions judgment of $80,000 imposed by a Federal court for
filing frivolous lawsuits, delay tactics, judge-shopping, and making
misrepresentations to a court. But a judge found he had
income in excess of $1.35 million over an 18-month period, and spent nearly
$3,000 in one month on restaurants, meals, liquor, yoga, tanning, kettlebell
equipment, pet stores, and Brooks Brothers.

The court found that he concealed income by having his law
firm funnel it through a corporation called “The Church of Jesus Christ and
Latter Day Austrian Economists.” The church did not have 501(c)(3) status,
and though Butler claimed it performed pro bono activities, the Court found its
primary function was to provide a debit card on which Butler financed much of
his personal expenses. Butler has been suspended from practice before the
Minnesota federal court. He remains licensed to practice in the Minnesota
courts.

Butler did not return a telephone call or email from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, but on his website, he contends he is being
punished for protecting mortgage fraud victims, and calls for the impeachment
of the Minnesota Federal District Court bench.

Lawyer’s Flaming Hammer Lights Up Savannah’s Super Bowl Experience

Many of us watch the Super Bowl as much for the ads as for
the football game, and sometimes there is a question which is better
entertainment.[1] This year marked the 30th anniversary of the most famous Super Bowl ad of all, Apple’s 1984 ad announcing the Macintosh, complete with a flung hammer.[2]

Perhaps the most dramatic ad this year also featured a flung
hammer, but only if you live in Savannah, Georgia. In that local market,
Savannah lawyer Jamie
Casino ran an ad that looked more like a movie trailer. Casino draws on
the death of his brother to explain his calling to personal injury work.
Somehow this involves a flaming hammer.

Let Us Know

Got a tip, a link, a correction, a question, a comment, an observation, a clarification, a wisecrack, an idea you’d like to see addressed?
We are always glad to hear from you. Write us at comments@padisciplinaryboard.org.